Letter to France Cordova, Director of the National Science Foundation - In Strong Support of Monroe Community College Grant Application to the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education Program to Enable Mcc to Expand Its Optics and Photonics Education and Training Program

Letter

I am pleased to write in strong support of Monroe Community College (MCC) grant application to the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program to enable MCC to expand its optics and photonics education and training program so that MCC can train more students to fill available high skill, high demand positions at local and regional employers. Currently MCC is the only college in the nation that offers an associate degree program in optics, and yet, in the Rochester region there are now more job openings for these positions than there are graduated students ready to fill these openings. Thus, MCC's proposal, named the Optics & Photonics Technology INnovation-OPT IN!, will expand MCC's work by first expanding and enriching its curriculum to train students for today's cutting-edge photonics fields, and secondly by linking with secondary schools, universities, and employers to create a seamless pipeline for more students to seek a career in photonics.

Currently more than 120 optics, photonics, and imaging companies employ over 24,000 people across the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Central New York regions. With an anticipated 3.3% annual employment growth and a workforce that is approaching retirement, the need for skilled optics technicians is outpacing the number of graduates who are prepared to fill positions. Beyond the specific workforce needs of these existing companies, demand for skilled photonics worker will grow further with the establishment in 2015 of the Rochester, NY headquartered federal American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics).

To grow the optics and photonics workforce, the proposed OPT IN! program will impact 850 high school and college students including underrepresented, non-traditional students like our growing veteran student population to help them advance their careers. MCC would expand dual enrollment opportunities for high school students, 2+2 and transfer linkages to four-year universities, student internships, and faculty professional development. Furthermore the program would develop new and revised curriculum, including online curriculum, at MCC's Optical Systems Technology program to meet current industry standards. And by broadening industry and community partnerships it will foster recruitment, retention, and outreach activities to promote the awareness of optics and photonics as career option.

Again, I am pleased to write in support of this win-win proposal that aims to meet both the needs of a student population seeking the skills needed to gain a career in a high tech industry and for the needs of existing photonics businesses seeking new employees to fill current and future job openings. I appreciate your consideration of this proposal.

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